After a football scandal, S.M.U. is virtuous, upbeat and skimpy

Forrest Gregg, the new football coach at Southern Methodist University, is in pain, and not from the foot that he broke trying to move a blocking sled. Gregg is running practice at Ownby Stadium in Dallas this fall afternoon, and everywhere he sees missed blocks, bad tackles, poor passing. For Gregg, fresh from 30 years in the pros, the tableau is as grim as anything he encountered on the offensive line with the Green Bay Packers.

"Stay low," "Move it," "Lift your arms," he rasps in a low monotone. The tackling drill is aptly called "the Nutcracker," because either the lineman...